A bicycle computer is a device that uses a microcontroller to compute, record and display information to a cyclist as to their activity, such as velocity, distance traveled, vertical ascent, power output by the cyclist's effort, cadence, heart rate, amongst other possible information. Such bicycle computers may use a variety of sensors to capture, record, transmit and represent such information including GPS, Barometric Pressure Sensors, Power Meters, Cadence Sensors, Heart Rate Sensors, some or all of which may be connected to transmit sensor information in a wired or wireless manner to the device.
Typically, bicycle computers use digital displays such as, for example, liquid crystal display (LCD) or organic light emitting diode (OLED) display technology interfaced to a digital microcontroller, predominantly representing data numerically (as digits). In some cases, a bicycle computer may display a gauge type.
The disadvantages of digital (numerical) display of data is generally understood by those skilled in the arts of instrument design for the display of mission-critical information. Specifically, and relevant in the context of measuring useful real-time information for a moving vehicle (including but not limited to bicycles, motorcycles, automobiles, airplanes, marine vessels, locomotives) the display of information in gauge-type representations proves more legible in contexts where the interpretation of that information should not be overly distracting or where cognitive load is a significant factor to be managed as in, for example, a fast moving vehicle.
Typically, any bicycle computers that display data using a gauge-type display use a microcontroller connected to a digital display such as an LCD or OLED display interfaced to a digital microcontroller, to represent data in a computationally rendered graphical facsimile of true gauge-type indicators. However, there are disadvantages to a digital display in the general case of LCD, OLED and other modern display technologies appropriate for the display of rapidly changing information (i.e., not so-called “E Ink” bi-stable display technology, which is known to be unsuitable for contexts in which the display must show rapidly changing information) in that they must be constantly energized to function. Thus, they require a constant power supply in order to represent useful real-time, mission critical data to a cyclist, therefore requiring more overall power usage than systems in which the display need not be constantly energized.
Additionally, bicycle speedometers and odometers, may also display information to a cyclist using gauge-type indicators. In order to represent useful data to the cyclist of the true gauge-type, speedometers and odometers typically use mechanical linkages and couplings to articulate mechanical indicators. Also, speedometers or combination speedometer-odometers are referred to as such because they are unable to represent other data useful to the cyclist beyond velocity, distance and in some cases pedaling cadence or revolutions-per-minute of a wheel. In addition mechanically coupled instruments introduce mechanical friction which must be overcome by the cyclist's pedaling effect, such that less of the cyclist's pedaling effort contributes to the motion of the bicycle itself.